Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Beware ...

I’ve just spent ninety minutes trying to figure out who Lindsay Lohan is, why Rosie O’Donnell got fired from her TV show and what new grotesque photographs of Princess Diana’s death scene are about to be released on British TV. I could have spent that time playing with my three-year-old, reading the new Thomas Pynchon novel or doing sit-ups … but I didn’t. I used to think television, heroin, crack, cigarettes, sex, gambling or booze were the most frightening addictions to which a person could succumb but I’m having second thoughts. The Internet is a siphon that takes your time away while making you believe you’re doing something productive.

Lynda ... It wasn't so much that I turned to you, more that I turned and you were there. Just that day I had been thinking about finding a recipe and there was yours. Haven't tried it yet - I'll report back.

in what way is tv any different? channel surfing without thought wastes just as much time. i spend a lot of time on the net, but it's time i enjoy which i never consider wasted, because it's a conscious choice to look for things that interest me, and return to those places i've found worthy.

One of the reasons I enjoy your (and other ex-pat's) blogs is that your insights and everyday experiences don't include such stuff as Lindsay, Rosie, etc., and make my time on the 'net feel more productive...or at least more profound.

Or, maybe it's just a massive rationalization. As they said in The Big Chill, "Don't knock rationalization... I don't know anybody who can get through the day with out 2 or 3 juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex." Did I just date myself?

Held Hostage--I remember that line too and have quoted it myself. Jeff Goldblum delivered it on screen in The Big Chill. And no, we ARE NOT OLD. ; )

I spend a lot of time online, some of it worthwhile, some of it frittered away. I remind myself that before I was attached to the computer I was constantly reading magazines and catalogs and newspapers and it's much the same. Feeding my brain tidbits of information, some nutritious, some like junk food.